Scenario One: Richie Aurilia, batting second in the lineup, hits a double. Then, Barry Bonds, the guy with 56 home runs in August comes up. The pitcher decides to avoid giving up number 57, and since the base is empty, intentionally walks him.
Scenario Two: Richie Aurilia gets a single. Bonds comes up, his diamond earring flashing in the lights. The pitcher swallows hard, but has to pitch to him. After all, first base is taken.
Okay. What the heck is this? I don’t know how many times I’ve seen Scenario Two take place this year, but the end result would be exactly the same if they walked Bonds - Aurilia on second, Bonds on first. I understand that if Aurilia is on first, they can hope for a double play, but that isn’t the only reason pitchers won’t walk Bonds at that moment. There’s this whole thing about the base being “free” or “taken” that completely mystifies me. The Giants announcers, two of whom are former major leaguers, speak sagaciously about how the pitcher will have to pitch to Bonds now, oooh. And they do! My question: what’s the difference?
[Note: I am not against this happening. I think all pitchers should be forced by mandate to pitch to Bonds every time he is up.]
The end result may be the same, but the situations are utterly different.
When there’s a man on second and one out, it makes good sense to walk the next batter, especially if that batter is a good hitter. If you pitch to Bonds, and he hits a ground ball, the runner will stay on second, Bonds will be thrown out, and there’s STILL a man in scoring position! But if you walk Bonds, the runner HAS to move, and you create a force-out opportunity. at every base.
But if there’s just a man on first, there’s ALREADY a force at second in the event of a ground ball! So, walking the batter (be it Bonds or anyone else) gains you absolutely nothing!
Now, if you’re just TERRIFIED of Barry Bonds, if you’re the type who’d intentionally walk him every time he comes to the plate… I suppose there’s nothing I can do to change your mind. But good as he is, Bonds is NOT Superman, and his batting average demonstrates that he’s far more likely to make an out than he is to hit a homer, in any given plate appearance.
Why on Earth would you automatically concede first base to ANY hitter, when it doesn’t buy you any strategic advantage?
If you have a guy on second and (depending on numerous other factors including inning and score) you decide to walk a power hitter, you aren’t losing as much as you would if you walked a guy with someone just on first. When the first guy hit the double, he is allready in scoreing position. You dont normally want to move someone into scoreing position on purpose. BUT, you can intentionaly walk someone at any time, EVEN WITH THE BASES LOADED(I cant think of any instances of this happening but I sware my dad mentioned this to me several times over the years). There is the hitting into the double play aspect, but I’d bet it has more to do with putting someone in scoring position.
And by the way, I dont care if Bonds gets the single season home run record or not, but know that the closer he gets the fewer good pitches he will get.
Dead0man
Quite a bit depends upon whether you think it is easier to retire Barry Bonds or the batter after him, normally Jeff Kent. If you think Kent has a greater chance of making an out, then go ahead and walk Bonds.
Kent is less likely to get on base anyway as he doesn’t walk as much as Bonds. Of course, no one walks as much as Bonds does.
Remember that Bonds has received an intentional walk with the bases loaded before, although in that situation the batter after him was Brett Mayne and the Giants had no pinch hitters left to bat him.
There are numerous statistical studies that can be done on this, but it usually comes down to whom the manager thinks his pitcher has a better chance of getting out and of the 29 other managers in baseball, every single one will tell you that they would rather not pitch to Bonds with the game on the line, with the possible exception of a manager who has a very good lefty on the mound (e.g. Randy Johnson, Billy Wagner).
As BobT mentioned, Bonds has been walked with the bases loaded in 1998 in a game against the Diamondbacks. The last time before that was in 1944, when New York Giants manager Mel Ott had Bill Nicholson of the Cubs intentionally walked with the bases loaded since Nicholson had already hit four homeruns in that day’s doubleheader. The Giants went on to win the game.
Coincidentally enough, Ott himself was the recipient of a bases loaded intentional walk when he was a player, but for a different reason. In 1929, Ott and Chuck Klein of the Philles were tied for the home run lead on the last day of the season, and the two teams played a doubleheader. Klein hit a homer his first at bat to take the lead. In the second game, Ott was intentionally walked in all five plate appearances, including once with the bases loaded, to protect Klein’s title.